Exiled Undercover
by InnocentDiamond
Summary: After saving a fox kit, Shun meets and helps a few ninjas and servant girl who are secretly protecting an exiled yet targeted princess while seeking help everywhere possible. However, he realizes she may be more than just a servant, and definitely more than just a girl.
1. A Sign of Change

Tied to the stake in the center of the people's courtyard was the queen of Senyou Country, the land of 'a thousand suns' in a place and time faraway. The crowd of civilians standing around the stake cheered violently.

"Burn that witch now!"

"She's a kitsune and dangerous to the people."

The executioners lit torches and prepared to throw them on the wood placed at the bottom of her feet. Using the last of her energy, the queen twitched her left middle finger to speak mentally to a friend of hers who stood among the civilians in the crow. _"Dr. Gehabich, you're my last hope. Make sure the king's guards don't find the princess, regardless if she's being exiled."_

_"Ye_s_, Your Majesty."_ Dr. Gehabich sneaked out of the crowd and took a secret shortcut to a nearby ryokan. He saw dark smoke rise from the courtyard and knew she was being burned. _Rest in peace, Cassandra._

The doctor opened the doors and was met with a fair-skinned teenage, hime-cut redhead. "There you are, Hime-denka. Follow me and stay silent. I've been away too long and have no idea you're being exiled. Have you spoke to your servants?"

"Just my closest one. Everyone else is gone already. I already have my people everywhere ready to help. Let's go."

The civilians were right about Queen Cassandra being a witch. The fire burned for hours, and by sunset, only her legs were badly damaged. The crowd continued yelling until the a blue-masked blond man appeared, prompting the crowd to make way. He took out a bow and arrow and prepared to aim.

"I heard silver is lethal to wolves, and it actually works, proving to be a great help in my hunts. Let's hope a silver arrow will work equally lethal on foxes. Any last words?"

Queen Cassandra recognized the vigilante who claimed to know how to kill her and lit up in fury. "Every deed I have done for this country will be every catastrophe that'll come your way in the future after my death."

He just smirked. "That's it? Short. Now, I shall aim this arrow...directly at your heart."

The arrow penetrated the air, and the queen suffered blood loss and poisoning.

Now the fire could fully consume her.

"One more piece of unfinished business left to go..."

Meanwhile, the princess and doctor ran for their lives out of the palace and into the woods but stopped. "Whatever we do, we need to stay alive. This is why we need to take separate paths."

"But Hime-denka, did you just hear? You're not being exiled anymore, but _assassinated._"

"Since when?! But as long as I live, there's hope for revenge." The princess took out her half Libra necklace and removed the chain. "This pendant is my last h-"

"Over here!"

The two looked up to see a masked man and blacked-clothed assassins descending from the trees above. Dr. Gehabich pushed the princess away and yelled, "Get out while you have the chance! Good luck!"

"Good luck!"

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

"What now?!"

Shun looked out the window of his carriage to see a guard stopping the chauffer and asking to verify identification.

"That does it. It's been the third time we've been stopped today, and we're making no progress."

"Grandfather, you can't blame them. Do you know how hectic it's been?" Shun complained. "Just take out your identification token and show it to the guard. He's only doing his job."

"And the more he does his job, the less we're doing our job." He slammed his token into his grandson's hand. "You show it to him. I'm not getting out of my seat."

"Suit yourself." Shun lifted the curtain and was aided by the chauffer down onto the cement ground. "Here you go. My grandfather and I recently left Kawaguchi and are coming in the capital city to complete another business task."

"Explain no more. I recognize your tokens, and you may pass."

Shun took the tokens back as the guard stepped aside. "May I ask why security has been so tight lately?"

The guard leaned closer and spoke cautiously. "You're definitely not from here. Her Majesty was discovered to be a kitsune, and some very unsatisfied people wanted her and her daughter gone. Also, original punishment of exile for the princess changed to execution...more like assassination now that Hime-denka went missing. I wouldn't find out more if I were you, but you're also foreigners, so...yeah."

"Oh, how tragic. Arigatou." Shun ascended the carriage, and the chauffer drove off. "Looks like there's a civil war in the inner palace."

"Who cares? It's not our business. Now give me my token back!"

_Why am I always stuck with Grandfather on business trips?_ Shun sighed and stared out the window. _Going with Uncle Suguru would be better, but he doesn't travel in southern Senyou. Only Grandfather travels countrywide._ The carriage stopped shortly in front of an ryokan. The aroma of udon noodles from the food stands reminded the young boy very much of home, where he hadn't been to in a long time.

"Kazami-sama, Shun-sama, here's where you'll stay for tonight. The owner said it's for safety precautions, and the real business doesn't take place until we reach the inner city. Plus, it's getting dark. We should get settled."

"Um..." Shun looked up and around to see a faintly blue and cloudless sky. "It's not _that_ dark. I'm going to explore the town for now."

His grandfather handed him a green pouch. "You might want to take some money."

"Whatever."

Shun thanked his grandfather and walked down the streets until he reached the forested outskirts of town. The smell of sweet grass, beautiful flowers, and fresh leaves filled the air. _Haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow. _After confirming there was no one nearby, he couldn't help but jump up one of the trees and rested on a tree branch. _**This**__ is what I like better._

Not too faraway, Shun spotted a patch of orange among tall green grasses. "I guess someone left their bag behind. Better check it out."

But it wasn't a lost bag.

It was a young fox kit.

"Oh my goodness..."

The kit's left front paw was stuck in a trap. "I don't really know if I should help you or not, after hearing what happened to the queen. However..." He took a couple gold coins and propped the trap open with them. "I'm not that heartless. As for your injury," Shun dumped out all the gold coins and ripped the pouch in half. "that should stop the bleeding. You're free to go."

Before the kit left, it ran over by a tree and began digging. _Foxes know how to dig and bury? Well, they __**are **__related to wolves and dogs, after all._ The kit came back with a half Libra necklace pendant in its mouth. "You little...I don't know what to say! You're _very_ sneaky, but I'll take this as a sign of thanks. Stay safe."

Thus, the fox kit was gone, and Shun headed back into town.

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

"Split up."

A redhead ordered her servants to survey the surrounding area to make sure it was safe. She herself just rolled up the map and stayed in her room at the ryokan. _Even with Her Majesty dead, there's still mayhem everywhere. If we leave Senyou Country and ask for help, His Majesty will order spies in every kingdom and country to kill us._ She pounded the wall in anger, almost disturbing the guest next door. _I can't believe he made peace with his sworn enemies just for of this. What's gotten into him?_

"Alice-sama, maybe you should take a walk."

"I guess. Come on, Marucho. You too, Baron." The three of them walked out the back door of the ryokan to the outside. They strolled around the street in front of the ryokan and noticed a raven-haired boy on the street in front of them.

What bad timing for Shun.

"Who are you?" Baron demanded

"I'm just a businessman visiting the capital city, that's all."

"Really? Hand up!" Marucho ordered.

Shun held his hands up, for he had nothing to fear since he did nothing wrong. However, he tried to hide the item he received from the fox earlier, but the metal surface caught the moonlight and gave itself away. "What do you-"

"After him! He probably stole it!" Marucho interrupted.

Baron took out his sword and aimed at Shun, who dodged every attacked aimed at him with his ninja skills. "Sumimasen, but I'm not in the mood to fight. I'm just a foreigner-"

"Who happens to be _very _skilled in ninjutsu, but that won't help you here."

But Alice finally saw the item in Shun's hand and gasped. "Marucho, matte! Don't-"

He took out a blowgun and shot a sedative dart. Alice tried to block it, but the feathers cut her left hand, and the dart landed on Shun's right arm. He collapsed immediately, and Alice ran over and held him in her arms. She looked at the pendant and shook her head.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Take him back to my room now!" Alice reached in her pocket and pulled out an identical but reflected pendant half and place it with the one Shun had. _It matches...could he really be the one?_


	2. While the Chaos Continues

**Me: Grgh! I got stung by a bee for a first time today during PE! And what's worse was that I was the ONLY person standing still and listening to the teacher's directions. Why me?!**

**Marucho: This is a bad time to be ranting...**

**Dan: Would you like some painkillers?**

**Me: No thanks. It's only on my left hand, and I had PE early in the morning today, so it's all better. Everyone in Stud. Govt. was picking on me for that because I actually cried.  
**

**Runo: Oh, I will kick all of their-**

**Me: Runo, relax. I'm fine, although the freshmen officers were panicking "Oh no! We won't have money today!" Really guys? As for this story, I'm changing a few things but there won't be much difference. Review responses.**

pretty pretty - Thanks for the support!

i WnT 2 NoE - Shun will be alright, since Alice realized he wasn't a "bad" person.

MagicxMusicxMelody - You've them both? I got to change the entire plot then. ^-^ Those kind of alliance's are absurd. Alice's role and identity are revealed in the chapter.

RosesOfTruth - Alice isn't half fox, and by power, she has a little bit of political power left (not spoiling), but not actual spells. Shun's just in for the fun and freedom of it. More like a trainee that will never be promoted.

S. S. R - I changed that last minute from supernatural to spritual, but it doesn't matter. Korean dramas? The only two I took seriously are Queen Seondeok and Dae Jang Geum. The history behind the queen being a kitsune is complicated, and the princess is no less confusing. There's your good/bad guy opener. I put them in the same motel on pupose.

CookieDecor22 - Already published. ;D I don't know what I was doing when I said "people's courtyard." Just putting the idea of silver lethal to wolves in here! Yeah, they're the same guy. I like reusing OCs. Actually, I just realized the pun right there. Very classic of me. Most likely, I won't be using twins, but it could be useful for a subplot.

ahsokazami2001 - Thanks for the praise!

Cherry-Tree - I know, things are still crazy and need to be straightened out. Alice isn't the princess, and blow darts _are_ a traditional weapon of the earlier days.

Cup of Violet Tea - Sorry if it was scary! Cassandra is definitely wrongly accused, and it'll come back to haunt some people. More or less, we already know who that "assassin" is. Glad to hear you loved the end part!

koryandrs - Thanks for the compliment!

**Dan: I have some painkillers and-**

**Marucho: Give them to Shun! He needs them more!**

**Alice: WHO was it that shot the dart at him again?!**

**Me: So you're just going to ignore the fact I got stung by a bee?**

**Marucho: You're already okay, so you don't need it.**

**Runo: Why don't I take the painkillers away and-**

**Chan: *enters from nowhere* InnocentDiamond does not own any HOGs, dramas, and animes used.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: While the Chaos Continues  
**

**xXx**

"You're awake!"

Alice clapped her hands with joy while kneeling down next to Shun, who just opened his eyes and sat up from the tatami mat he slept on. He was still a little dizzy from and looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"I'm sorry for accidentally over-sedating you earlier," Alice apologized. "Right now, you're resting in my ryokan room. How's that wound feeling?"

"Accident? Sedating? Wound?" Shun turned to face Alice, but the pain in his right arm held him back. "Ouch!" He took a feel deep breaths while holding his arm. "I see what you mean."

"I had my friends Marucho and Baron perform first aid while I made the medicinal paste. Besides, you've been sleeping for an hour. We should clean that wound again. Right, Marucho? Baron, lend me a hand."

Marucho stood in the corner with his head down. "I'm sorry for shooting that sedated blow dart at you, uh..."

"Shun Kazami, but just call me Shun. And you are?" he asked the redhead.

"Alice Gehabich. That was Marucho, and this is Baron." Alice unraveled the bandage from the opening. "What happened before you encountered us?"

"Um...I entered town with my grandfather and then went a walk. I saved a fox kit, came back home, and then encountered you guys. I then collapsed and-" Shun suddenly covered his mouth. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Said what?"

"Some guard said Queen Cassandra was accused of being a kitsune, and I saved a fox kit to-" He looked at Alice's left hand, which was covered with bandages as well. _I wonder if that fox kit is doing fine_. "What happened to your left hand?"

"This? I tried catching that blow dart but ended up getting cut by the feathers." Alice took the bowl of paste from Baron's hands and smeared more onto Shun's wound. "As for the kitsune queen deal, I've heard a lot already. Which reminds me, where did you get that pendant?"

"W-What pendant?"

"This." Alice took out her half of the whole pendant. "If you really have the other half, you _need_ to tell me. Where did you get it? Who gave it to you?"

"Oh." Shun searched his pockets and took out the pendant Alice was talking about. "The fox kit that I saved earlier gave this to me. Why? What's so important about-"

Alice snatched out of his hand and joined the two halves together. "Masaka! Guys, I was right!" Baron and Marucho both stared at the whole pendant and gasped. "That fact that she'd give this to you means she really trusts you."

"'She'?" _Clearly, Shun_ was talking about a fox, but Alice's reaction meant she knew something more. "What does it mean,? And how come you have the other half?"

Alice clutched the Libra pendants tightly and looked up. "Do you really want to know?"

Shun simply nodded, curious about exactly who 'she' is and how the fox kit was related.

She leaned in closer and answered with deep breaths. "I'm not just and ordinary girl traveling in the capital city of our country." She took out a circular piece of jade with the character for 'princess' etched on it. "I'm the princess's most trusted servant, and she gave me half of her Libra pendant before we split up and went our ways during the escape. You must've encountered her."

"But a _fox_ gave this to me." Remembering what he was told about Queen Cassandra being a kitsune earlier, he covered his mouth in again. "How did I not see it coming?"

"Honestly, I don't know what's going on with her either. The truth is that the queen may be a kitsune and found guilty of some capital crime which she _admitted _to, but the princess is innocent. Her father—the king—exiled her, but later changed the royal order to assassination. He's even siding with his enemies just to find and kill her. How heartless is—shh!"

"Remember to search _every_ room!" ordered a person outside.

"I'm taking all these people in for custody!" replied a person inside.

"No one's here." declared a person just outside Alice's room.

All four people remained silent after hearing a door break open and the storming in of many people. The clinks and clanks of metal resonated with loud yelling. "What's going on?" Shun asked.

"The king's personal royal officers, I assume, by the metallic sound of their attire. I heard they've been ordered to search every facility to in hopes of finding the princess or crossing a building off their list of suspicious places."

"So they just make a mess of the place?"

"If everyone's a local, I guess. But this is a ryokan full of traveling outsiders, and they do take foreigners or suspicious people in for questioning." She peeked out from a slit the window and added, "Your grandfather included."

"What?!" Shun peeked out through the window slit as well and couldn't believe what he saw. "This is such a bad day for me. How do you know he's my grandfather?"

"I was in this ryokan way before you and studied all the guests that enter and leave." Alice could her Shun growl but she remained calm again. "I'm sorry for spying on you, but now that you know who we are and how dangerous this situation is for us, I hope you understand. The reason why I chose this room is because it's a corner room where both doors look like they're a part of the wall. They won't come here."

He shook his head. "It's okay. You all have your hardships. But am I just going to let my grandfather get taken away like this? What are we going to do now? He may be an experienced traveler and businessman, but this is his first time here."

"I'm sorry Shun, but you know too much now for me to let you go on this. If the king keeps this up, the entire Senyou Country will be in ruin. His enemies won't help him. They're only taking advantage of this chaos for their own benefit!"

Shun looked between Alice, who was on the verge of crying, and Marucho and Baron, who stood behind her confidently. "Please, Shun. You're our last hope." they pleaded.

_This place is so complicated. First I end up stuck with Grandfather, and now I'm involved with this civil war._ He took a deep breath and answered, "I will."

Followed by Shun wiping some of her tears, Alice looked up and gazed at him surprisingly. "Y-You're willing help us?!"

"I have no choice. There won't be anything left if Senyou Country succumbs to this civil war. Only...how exactly am I your last-"

"Alice-sama! Bad news!" A boy dressed in black all over except for his orange hair and green eyes barged in. "Everyone in this ryokan has been taken away, and I can't find the other guys"

Shun stared at Alice shockingly after hearing how the young man addressed Alice, but she paid no attention. "It's okay, Jake. By the way, Shun, this is Jake. Jake, this is Shun. He's going to be helping us."

"Nice to meet you, Shun-san." He walked over to Alice and put something in her hand. "They're onto us now. I found this latest piece of newspaper with even worse news, so I'm giving you this pink pouch to you now. I'll be leaving. Good luck, Alice-sama! Stay safe!"

After Jake closed the door and left, Alice read the folded newspaper and let out a long sigh. "I guess we won't be staying here any longer."

"Where's he going?" Shun asked.

"I gave Jake some different instructions." She opened the pink silk pouch and poured the contents into her palm. "A metal wind chime pipe and pink flower petals...let's go."

"To where?"

_He's going to have to know anyway that what we're doing here isn't as simple as it looks. _ She placed them back inside and handed the pouch to Marucho. "To an old place that I haven't been to a long time...all because of this chaos."

"Your hometown?"

"Not really. Marucho, take Shun with you and get us a carriage to Ukishima Country. Baron, let's pack our stuff."

With Shun and Marucho gone, Alice and Baron grabbed all their things inside the ryokan room and placed them all inside their traveling bags. "Alice-sama," Baron asked. "You sure this Shun is reliable?"

Alice stopped packing to think for a moment. "I'm positive. Now that Jake's given me this pouch, we "

"But he said he got it from a fox, and-"

Alice rested her hands on Baron's shoulders and smiled. "Relax! I'll take care of everything. All you and Marucho have to do is protect me and so on. Got it?"

"Whatever you say." he replied, carrying his belongings outside.

She stood in her place and watched Baron carry his belongings and leave, still clutching the pendants in her hand. _It's going to be a long and complicated war. I know Shun didn't get a hold of this pendant half by accident or coincidence._ Alice once again stared at the pendant halves and thought, _I'm going to have to tell him everything someday, but when?_

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

She swept the front steps of the temple clear of the fallen leaves and petals.

"This is going to be a long day today..."

The girl stood up and stretched her arms and back, looking into the vast distance while taking a break. She brushed some fallen leaves out of her navy-blue hair and red-white kimono rested her chin on the broom handle. "I'm so bored! There's nothing to do, and I've been sweeping front steps of buildings since sun-"

"Chan! Get back to work! The front steps are _still _covered in dead foliage!"

"Yes, madam..."

After sticking her tongue out as her way of ranting, Chan grabbed her broom and walked back up the hill path to the temple. _I hate living here in the outskirts of __Ukishima Country. It's so boring, and nothing ever happens here._ Suddenly she stopped walking and turned around. A small carriage was making its way up the mountain paths in her direction.

"Visitors...this will be interesting."

* * *

**Marucho: Look at who's also ranting...**

**Runo: Look at who's holding secrets...**

**Dan: Look at who's NOT doing their chores...**

**Me: What was the whole point of that? Anyway, Jake's joining the group of "amatuers," as someone said to me. Alice's gotten a little too suspicious, hasn't she? Also, some royal people gave personal belongings to their servants as a way to override regulation to complete a task. Like a hall pass.**

**Chan: But I doubt that jade will be useful now. No wonder she's not here.**

**Me: And YOU need to do your chores!**

**Dan: Aha!**

**Chan: *defending herself* Okay I'm sorry! It's just that having visitors means I get a break from work.**

**Me: Point proven. Next chapter—don't know when it'll be yet—will feature Chan, Ukishima Country, and the rest of the adventure. Travel time!**

**Chan: Meanwhile, please leave a review!**

* * *

_Perfume - 1mm_


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